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Gorillaz: Plastic Beach (Parlophone/Virgin)

Gorillaz started in 1998 as an escape for Blur-frontman Damon Albarn from his disbanding group. But since 2005’s Demon Days, Damon’s alter-ego has been somewhat silent. That’s not to say Damon himself has been quiet – he did an electro spin on Chinese folklore Journey to the West with last year’s Monkey, started Brit rock supergroup the Good, the Bad and the Queen and recently reunited Blur – but that playful, acid-overdosed side of Damon has been neglected, until now.

The ‘Orchestral Intro’ sets a dramatic mood for what follows. And you can’t argue with lining Snoop Dogg up first! Teaming him with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Snoop’s meshed out rhymes sound as fresh as the ‘shrooms he gets on ‘Welcome To The World of the Plastic Beach’. Next, grime rappers Kano and Bashy spit over 8-bit loops on ‘White Flag’ and get hijacked by The National Orchestra For Arabic Music who turn the song from geeky gangsta to ethnic hop. It’s quite freaky but with good intentions as the lyrics of ‘White Flag’ pleads for world peace (minus the Bono-pathy).

Going beyond Gorillaz’ novelty of being a fictitious band of loose collaborators, Damon helms the album tightly. And his serotonin-inducing voice ties everything as does his lyrical narrative of our world seen through his jaded, cartoony eyes. So forget about Ibiza or Koh Phagan, if you want to party and pretend you’re living in the future, escape to Plastic Beach.